Skyrim Patch 1.6 Introduces Mounted Combat

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim players will no longer be helpless when riding their horse. Patch 1.6 will enable players to perform both melee and ranged attacks while mounted.

If you own the PC version of the game, you can try out mounted combat as early as today. The patch is available in beta form through Steam. If you decide to opt into the beta program for Skyrim, be sure to back up your save files before installing the patch. Alternately, you can just create new save files.

The addition of mounted combat does remove one bit of awkwardness from the game's combat. Horseback riding always felt like a different phase of gameplay than being on foot. I'm looking forward to being able to use Shadowmere to chase down renegade dragons.

Patch 1.6 will also add new optimizations and bug fixes. The kill cams added in Patch 1.5 should behave themselves better. Furthermore, Meridia's Beacon will no longer disappear from your inventory. Here's the full list of fixes:

Fixed rare issue with shouts only performing the first level and not other unlocked levels with Kinect enabled (Xbox 360)

Fixed issue where the shout buttons would stop working properly if users mashed LB and RB during cooldown with Kinect enabled (Xbox 360)

Bethesda didn't mention when this update will be publicly available. I suppose it depends how smoothly the beta testing goes on Steam. They reassured gamers that all three platforms will receive the patch, though.